Madonna and controversy are like peanut-butter and jelly. So it comes as no surprise (not a large one, at least) when the pop icon took images of Civil Rights leaders and had them edited to match her Rebel Hearts LP album art.

The release of her six track Rebel Hearts LP on iTunes followed an album leak (of the unmastered version). Madonna went on to call the leak “artistic rape” and “a form of terrorism.” In he wake of all that, the LP promo included wire-bound images of Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, John Lennon, Princess Diana, Bob Marley and Basquiat.

Madonna posted the altered photos to both her Instagram and Twitter including captions such as “This #rebelheart had a dream!” for (MLK Jr.) and “This #rebelheart sang about ONE LOVE!” (for Marley). Pretty “rebelutionary,” even for Madonna.

While the gesture did piss a lot of people, the ‘Pop Queen’ still had her fair share of supporters, including actress Jackée Harry.

Yesterday (Jan. 2.), Madonna released a statement via Facebook apologizing for the misunderstanding.

“I’m sorry
I’m not comparing my self to anyone
I’m admiring and acknowledging there Rebel Hearts
This is niether a crime or an insult or racist!
I also did it with Michael jaclson and frida khalo and marilyn monroe
Am I saying I am them
NO
I’m saying they are Rebel Hearts too.
And
I didn’t do it
My fans did
And I just re posted those photos
My fans aren’t racist either
If they put me in the same category as these other people
Thank you. I’m very flattered and I hope one day to live up to 1 100th of what those people accomplished.” – Madonna